Guild Hall - Shaftesbury, Dorset - Blue Plaques on Waymarking.com

A blue plaque on the side of Saxon Photographic, near the site of the old medieval Guild hall, Shaftesbury.

The plaque reads -
Nearby stood
the medieval Guild Hall,
replaced in 1569 by the
New Guild Hall, which
stood in the middle of
the High Street

"[Shaftesbury] town centre appears to have developed as two separate areas, each with its own market place. The High Street with a market along it from the top of Gold Hill was in the parish of St Peter’s. The market place (also known as Cornhill) was overlooked by the church and by the old guildhall or town hall. This area may have been the main commercial district of the medieval town and there are mentions of shops at Cornhill from the 1340s onwards."

SOURCE - (visit link)

"The town plan of 1615 shows that the market comprised a corn market, a fish market and a cattle market. Sheep were penned for sale in Bleke Street and Gold Hill, which also held a pig market. Cattle from as far afield as Wales were sold on Bimport and fish may have come from Poole. A covered market was erected in the centre of The Commons for the sale of perishable goods such as butter and milk, as well as poultry. A new guild hall was built at the top of Gold Hill in 1578."

SOURCE - (visit link)

"Shaftesbury changed little in terms of street layout during the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1817, the road down T out Hill was widened, the gradient reduced, and the retaining wall rebuilt. New Road was created at about the same time and was the only new addition to the road layout. It cut through the north side of Bleke Street to make an easier descent to the Gillingham road. There was some reorganisation of the market place. The old guildhall and other buildings in the centre of the High Street were removed and a new Town Hall was built in its present location in 1837."

SOURCE - (visit link)

Blue Plaque managing agency: Shaftsbury & District Historical Society Individual Recognized: Shaftesbury Guild Hall Physical Address: Gold Hill House 21 High St Shaftesbury, Dorset England SP7 8JE Web Address: Not listed

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